Proposition 8

Gays protested passage of Proposition 8 in a demostration last night in West Los Angeles, a gay sanctuary. (This is the area where Sarah Palin was hanged in effigy.) Three lawsuits already have been filed attempting to overturn Proposition 8. They argue that Proposition 8 is a constitutional "revision" instead of an "amendment." A "revision" requires approval by the legislature before it is submitted to voters. Apparently, Proposition 8 wasn't approved by the legislature.

All this is according to the LAT, which opposed Proposition 8. In an editorial this morning, the LAT argued that the majority of voters must be nuts to vote for Proposition 8 but that gays eventually will win on the issue because all the opponents of gay "marriage" eventually will die off.

The LAT goes on to lament the injustice of the majority's decision. Gays are like blacks, the LAT argues. They're being discriminated against, which is pitiful.

The LAT fails to mention that in California, the only state where Proposition 8 has any effect, same-sex partners in domestic partnerships have the same rights as married individuals. The only difference is that same-sex partners can't say they're "married." Well, they can say anything they want -- the federal constitution guarantees them that. But under Proposition 8 they can't represent that they're married when filling out official documents like applications for draft cards or Social Security benefits. But even if Proposition 8 had not passed, gays in same-sex "marriages" would not have been able to do those things because federal law doesn't recognize same-sex "marriages." Under California law, there is nothing a married person can do that a same-sex partner can't do.

Obama wins

Barack Obama won yesterday's election fair and square. Sure, there were lots of illegal votes but not enough to reverse the result. Obama will be president come January 20th. The looney Biden will be vice president. At least that gets him out of the Senate where he can do no harm -- unless something happens to Obama.

It's hard to guess which is the greater danger: Obama as president, Biden as president or Obama and Biden in the Senate. Perhaps Biden as president would be the greatest danger because he is incompetent and can't keep his mouth shut. Pray for Obama.

If McCain had won, race riots would have been likely, especially in places like Los Angeles and Detroit. Liberals would have alleged voter suppression or ballot manipulation or something to justify recounts and lawsuits. The situation would have been similar to the Florida 2000 fiasco where Al Gore tried to steal the election. Democrats would have insisted that McCain was an illegitimate president, certainly not their president.

Since Obama has won, there will be no riots and few if any lawsuits. The decision of the people of the United States will be accepted and respected by Republicans and conservatives. It is one of the differences between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives.

But Republicans and conservatives will oppose Obama and Democrats in Congress when they disagree with them, as they should. In a perfect world, such oppositon would not be necessary often.

Proposition 8

At 12:40 p.m. today California time, the "yes" vote on Proposition 8 leads the "no" vote 52.4 percent to 47.6 percent with 98.3 percent of precincts reporting. It's safe, therefore, to say that Proposition 8 has passed. That will not settle the issue.

Look for a flurry of lawsuits disputing the proposition's wording or alleging fraud in its ballot qualification or demanding a recount or whatever teams of lawyers can dream up. Look also for adverse court rulings based on assumed rights or imagined theories up to and including the California Supreme Court. Gay couples that "married" after the California Supreme Court ruled for gay "marriage" last May and before yesterday will argue that their "marriages" are valid because they complied with the law as it existed at the time of the "marriage." Proposition 8 covers this but these gay couples will insist it does not.

Bottom line, this is not over. Gays will never give up. Straights shouldn't either.

Rainey reporting

LAT staff writer (or columnist or both) James Rainey reports today and yesterday on the front page describing the presidential election campaign. He's a little negative on all the candidates except Barack Obama, who he describes as a young, black lawmaker. It beats his columns.

LAT editorializes for Prop. 8

The LAT argues today that Prop. 8 proponents use dishonest arguments, citing events in Massachusetts and elsewhere as proof that Prop. 8 would be bad for Californians. There's no reason to fear Prop. 8, the LAT says. It's just a question of equal rights, the LAT argues.

But the LAT declines to be honest in its editorial. It fails to mention that gays in domestic partnerships already have the same rights as married couples. Talk about being dishonest.

Obama's illegal aunt

The LAT reports today that Barack Obama's aunt, who lives in Boston, is in the U.S. illegally. But it's reported on page A16 in a short piece from the AP. Evidently, this doesn't much interest the LAT.

Stephanie Simon on Studs Terkel

Simon has an article on the front page of today's LAT eulogizing Studs Terkel. The LAT says she's a former staff writer. Currently, she writes for the WSJ. She probably wrote the eulogy before she left the LAT, knowing Terkel wouldn't live forever. Anyhow, it's a brilliant piece, though the subject was less than brilliant in this old fool's opinion. It isn't the first superb piece Simon has published, at the LAT or elsewhere. She's a rising star of journalism. Perhaps she's not merely rising.